but here in piedras negras, guatemala, the dates on the monuments struck proskouriakoff as very curious. several of the stelae at this remarkable site bear scenes like this. footsteps lead from the base of the stela up along a ladder, then disappear into a niche, to reveal a seated figure. was this a maya god ? on stelae like this, proskouriakoff noted two prominent dates. the first was always followed by this glyph. the second, between one and three decades later, was followed by this glyph. the pattern of the dates together with the scene depicted led to a startling hypothesis. perhaps these stelae depicted not gods, but kings, maya kings on their ascent to power. might the glyphs have recorded their births and ascent to the throne ? proskouriakoff carefully charted these dates. then she theorized that as each new ruler was seated the previous ruler had died. from the birth of one ruler to the ascent of the next, the span of dates never exceeded a human lifetime. clearly, this is not a portrait of a god, but of a young king on a throne. from below, he is watched by a woman -- perhaps